50 Words or Less
The 2025 Bridgestone e12 golf balls include three different models: e12 Speed, e12 Straight, and e12 HiLaunch. Overall, softer feel and higher short game spin than most comparably priced balls. Meaningful differences in the long game performance – each lives up to its name.
Introduction
No golf ball brand has put more emphasis on fitting in the last decade than Bridgestone. Through those fittings, they’ve found that “85% of golfers would benefit by playing a golf ball optimized for their launch conditions.” That discovery gave birth to the three models in the 2025 Bridgestone e12 golf ball family: e12 Straight, e12 Speed, and e12 HiLaunch. I tested each of them to see if Bridgestone’s Optimal Flight System makes a noticeable difference on the course.
Feel
For the last few years, Bridgestone has made some of the best feeling mid-price golf balls, and that remains true with the new e12 series. Off the putter, the e12 Straight has the firmest feel. On longer putts, the sound gets up to the “knock” that’s louder but still in the range of a premium ball.
The middle child is the 2025 Bridgestone e12 Speed. At short range, it feels very soft and has a slightly bouncy feel. The sound is a quiet “thud.” At longer range, the sound gets much snappier, but the feel remains soft. I found the e12 HiLaunch to be the softest off the putter. It has the bounciest feel and remains quiet even on long putts.
Moving to the wedge and short irons, there was a small change. The e12 Straight and e12 HiLaunch were both marshmallow soft, having that obvious compression feel off the club face. The e12 Speed still felt soft, but it was noticeably firmer than the other two.
Short Game
Looking back on my review of the e12 Contact [find it HERE], I remembered that it produced some of the highest short game spin of any mid price ball that I could remember. I was eager to see if any of the 2025 Bridgestone e12 golf balls could match that feat.
The ball that came closest was the e12 HiLaunch. While it didn’t have the same spin as a Tour-level ball, it was substantially higher spin than most balls in its price range. For me, the e12 Speed came in next, a measurable step below the e12 HiLaunch. Predictably, the e12 Straight had the lowest short game spin. It’s still roughly average for balls in this price range, but it spun substantially less than the e12 HiLaunch.
Long Game
The 2025 Bridgestone e12 golf ball family is all about dialing in your long game, so this was the most interesting part of the testing for me.
Regular readers know that with the mid irons, most golf balls converge. With the 2025 Bridgestone e12 on the launch monitor, I was able to see consistent differences. The e12 Straight spun the least – about 10% less than the HiLaunch, which was the highest spinning. In between was the e12 Speed, though it shaded slightly toward the Straight. All three launched within a degree and produced similar ball speed.
With the driver, the differences grew slightly. I saw similar spin gaps between the three balls with the e12 Straight spinning the least, then the e12 Speed, and the e12 HiLaunch spinning the most. For me, that spin gap was under 200 RPM, but I’m a low spin player. I expect higher spin players will see a larger gap. I also noticed that the Speed and Straight were slightly faster, though the difference was no more than 2 MPH, and I will always note that this could be explained by inconsistency in my driver swing.
Overall, I found that the 2025 Bridgestone e12 golf balls each lived up to their name. The HiLaunch did fly higher and the Straight curved the least. e12 Speed was not necessarily faster than the Straight, but it’s the middle of the road, good-for-all-golfers choice.
Conclusion
At $35 per dozen, the 2025 Bridgestone e12 golf balls offer some of the best value in the game. Each one does what it advertises and provides soft, premium feel to boot. If you’re looking for a change in your ball flight, these balls may be the easiest way to do it.
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He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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6 Comments
Great review, I did try all three of these golf balls out as well and I had similar results to what you found. The E 12 straight was probably my favorite in terms of overall performance. The high launch was good as well, very soft off the face, but almost went a little bit too high, especially with my wedge shots but if you are a slower swing player or need help with launch this is the ball for you. I was hoping for a little bit more performance from the E12 speed, but found it to be just the middle of the road. Great review. Keep up the good work.
Hi Matt –
A certain other review website is pretty adamant that while soft(er) mid-level balls like these might be “good” or “good enough,” tour-level, high compression balls are always going to be faster/longer, regardless of your swing speed. They are also pretty down on the mid-tier range of any OEM ball, period (with the argument being go Maxfli or DTC at that price point). Obviously, the cost consideration isn’t nothing, and maybe a tour ball at $20/dozen more isn’t $20 better, but in your testing experience would you ever say that something like the e12 series is going to be the “best” golf ball fit for someone?
Would be curious to hear any other thoughts you have on golf ball fitting, in general, too – maybe a good video for the new channel!
Mike,
I can definitely make a golf ball video.
I think there are absolutely players who will play their best with an e12 vs. a Tour ball. No comment on the other site.
Best,
Matt
I’ve mostly played the e12 Contact over the last few years (although I think there may have been a 2023 or 2024 version in there as well?), and they have served me well. Which of the three new 2025 versions is closest to the previous e12 Contact? If I read correctly above it is the HiLaunch for short game spin, how about mid & long game?
Pete,
Based on what I remember of the e12 Contact, I think the new Straight or Speed would be quite close in the long game.
Best,
Matt
Nice review *inserts thumbs up emoji*
I had used midrange Bridgestone balls for a long time. I still miss e5 urethane everytime I’m in a greenside bunker.